The Specialist in Informal STEM Education Research will be an integral team member and serve as the organizational representative in informal (i.e. out-of-school) research initiatives. This position will add capacity to MMSA’s growing team, specifically in conducting research and evaluation in the service of improving equitable informal STEM education practice. This position will work closely with other STEM education specialists, research associates, external evaluators, and community members to design and implement research and evaluation studies, and to disseminate research findings in multiple formats as appropriate. They will provide educators, administrators, and professional learning providers in out-of-school settings with timely, actionable feedback as well as research findings to support knowledge-building in the informal STEM education field.

FTE: 1.0
Salary Range: $65,000 – $85,000 dependent on experience
Start Date: September or October 1, 2022

The right candidate will have the opportunity to deepen and share their skills in informal STEM education research, evaluation, and best practices to advance STEM education policy and practice.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Add capacity to MMSA’s Informal STEM Education team, specifically building capacity in informal STEM research grounded in practice 
• Work closely with practitioners to create and implement equity-driven research designs to advance informal STEM learning 
• Leverage both qualitative and quantitative methods to answer research questions related to informal STEM education, preference given to excellent background and demonstrated experience in qualitative methods
• Lead planning efforts advancing the Informal STEM education research project portfolio within MMSA and with partners across the nation
• Lead dissemination initiatives including peer reviewed journal articles, presentations, reports, conferences, and other research-based dissemination efforts as needed
• Design, implement, or oversee research and evaluation studies
• Identify or create, as needed, appropriate learning assessment instruments 
• Conduct qualitative and basic quantitative data analysis
• Share skills with other research and project staff, as appropriate
• Lead and assist team members with grant proposals 
• Potentially oversee project management including budgetary decision making and performing quality control on project expenses and revenue
• Potentially oversee and manage assigned staff and hiring/contracting with freelance professionals and contractors in multiple areas of expertise
• Other duties as assigned
• This position will be expected to attend organization-wide meetings at least twice per month at the MMSA offices in person and will be expected to travel occasionally (including rare overnights) at locations elsewhere in Maine (with travel expenses paid by MMSA). They will be able to work from home for part of their time, if desired.

Education & Experience:

• Master’s degree is required, Ph.D. strongly preferred, in an education related field 
• Knowledge of research literature and best practices in informal (i.e. out-of-school) STEM education, such as afterschool or summer programs
• Experience designing and leading research design for educators in informal (i.e. out-of-school) settings 
• Strong writing skills, particularly for proposals and peer-review journals
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to work as an essential and productive member of a team
• Strong communication skills
• Strong Microsoft Office knowledge, use of standard office equipment, use of MAC computers and technology
• Strong skills and experience with qualitative software packages (such as Dedoose or NVivo)
• Ability to work on a remote-based team with a wide range of personalities and interests
• Ability to work independently as well as within a distributed team structure

Full time benefits include, but are not limited to:

• 76-100% Employer Sponsored Health Plans, up to family coverage or optional generous cash-in-lieu
• Employer-paid family dental, family vision, Life, STD, LTD, FMLA and Parental Leave
• Up to 10% 401K match
• 13 paid holidays
• Paid time off for birthday and floating holiday for religious purposes
• 20 paid vacation days
• 15 paid sick days